Start Date
2-20-2020 9:45 AM
Description
Alfalfa weevil is the primary insect pest attacking the first cutting of alfalfa reducing both quality and yield. The tiny 1st and 2nd stage larvae chew on tip leaves producing tiny pin holes which may seem minor, but 3rd and 4th stages feed extensively shredding leaves resulting in significant damage. A heavy infestation can cause the field to appear grayish. While an individual larva feeds for about 3 weeks, eggs hatch over an extended period, so total damage within a field will accumulate over 5 to 6 weeks.
Included in
Smarter Alfalfa Weevil Management
Alfalfa weevil is the primary insect pest attacking the first cutting of alfalfa reducing both quality and yield. The tiny 1st and 2nd stage larvae chew on tip leaves producing tiny pin holes which may seem minor, but 3rd and 4th stages feed extensively shredding leaves resulting in significant damage. A heavy infestation can cause the field to appear grayish. While an individual larva feeds for about 3 weeks, eggs hatch over an extended period, so total damage within a field will accumulate over 5 to 6 weeks.
Speaker's Bio
Ric Bessin, Ph.D. has worked at the University of Kentucky since 1991 with extension responsibilities including insect management on field and forage crops, specialty crops and greenhouses. He has worked to develop and evaluate IPM decision guidelines and management strategies for fruit, vegetable, and field crop insect pests in conventional and organic production systems. His entomology expertise addresses economic, pest management and ecological issues surrounding the deployment of genetically modified Bt corn in Kentucky. Dr. Bessin also serves as the Kentucky Integrated Pest Management Coordinator and Kentucky liaison to the IR-4 Project that helps to register pesticides for minor uses and minor acreage crops. Current applied research studies include; alternative management strategies for brown marmorated control in vegetable systems and effects of its invasion on native stink bugs; the effect of strip tillage on beneficial insects in cucurbit systems; monitoring the spread of spotted wing drosophila in Kentucky; and management of sugarcane aphid on sweet sorghum. In addition, he has been studying issues related to expansion of corn acreage under conservation tillage, particularly as related to the management of black cutworm, white grubs, and corn rootworm. Dr. Bessin earned his Ph.D. in Entomology from Louisiana State University.